Letter: Vero Beach will do just fine without an antiquated electric facility

Letter: Vero Beach will do just fine without an antiquated electric facility

It is still dark Saturday morning. I open the Press Journal and see that under cover of darkness, Barry Moline, hired gun of the Florida Municipal Electric Association, has drifted into town from Tallahassee to bring order to Vero Beach. Still waking up, I am startled as he shouts: "Maintain the status quo."

Lobbyist Moline is the same man who just months ago tried to silence a local citizen with the threat of legal action. Now he is stoking the fear and rumor mills with the idea that the sale of the electric system will mean the collapse of Vero Beach. Hogwash. The vast majority of municipalities in Florida flourish without maintaining an antiquated electric facility.

The only people I have heard say that Vero is in danger of collapsing if the electric system is sold, as Moline suggests, are champions of the status quo like paid lobbyist Moline, Ken Daige and Nick Thomas. Thomas' friend Jay Kramer, who was elected as a pro-sale candidate, betrayed the trust of the voters by becoming a stalwart for the status quo.

These are the same people who have not heard the voice of the people over the past four years, the citizens of Vero Beach who in one referendum and three elections have clearly shouted for the sale of the electric system.

There will soon be a referendum on the sale of the electric system. This referendum, in a representative democracy, is called an election. Any citizen who wants to jeopardize the future of Vero Beach by maintaining the dinosaur known as "Big Blue" is free to take Moline's advice. Those who understand the need for positive change should vote for Pilar Turner and Dan Stump.